Nonpareil
by Gackt Camui
Summary: [. . .Absolute power corrupts absolutely. -Lord Acton] Sesshoumaru desired power. Coincidentally, power sometimes took on strange appearances.


_See AN at bottom for background notes. Drabble to possible WIP. Self-edited. Disclaimer applies. Dedicated to all the people who actually like my fics._

**Nonpareil**

He remembered reading about the Imperial Regalia in two volumes of ancient Japanese mythology when he was young, not because his father's hired educator had made him, but because he had desired them, even at a very early age. Written in _Kojiki_ and the _Nihon Shoki_, it was said that the one who held the Imperial Regalia was the one true ruler of Japan. The Imperial Regalia were made of three legendary items in all – a sword, a mirror, and a jewel – all of which had been derived from gods and goddesses who had once created this magnificent country, and all who now no longer existed.

Their living innovations still walked the earth, however, in the form of animals and people, and creatures that were neither. These creatures, too, had been born into the world as long ago as some of the earliest deities, although they were associated most closely with _Izanagi _and _Izanami_, the divine father and mother of Japan. When male and female passed behind the sacred pillar, the Land of the Eight Great Islands was born from their union, and living things came forth at the same time, as if they had always _been_.

For a time, these creatures had been left to their own devices with the solid land. The deities that had delivered them became preoccupied with their own affairs of love, longing, and revenge. But, their children began to proliferate in the High Plain of Heaven, multiplying until their lesser descendants began to inhabit the undisturbed islands. Humans, who were much more contemporary and far more removed from power than their archaic counterparts, feared the savage creatures that had lived in isolation for so long. They feared the non-animals they could not harvest for meat or harness for unskilled labor. They shunned them and sought to destroy them, because they could not understand them and could not tame them.

Soon, the creatures began to struggle for survival and rose against the humans purely on instinct, feeding off their hate and disgust. Some mutated into far greater forms with the strength of five-hundred men; others shed their corporeal bodies and existed in the likeness of spirits. Still more metamorphosed into limbs and teeth and eyes and tails without any semblance of civilized consciousness. They lived only to remain alive, the way insensate parasites would.

Humans called them all _monsters_,_ beasts_.

Sesshoumaru, however, preferred to call himself a _demon_. To be described anything less was to degrade his very nature. He was too calculating to be categorized with the simple-minded _beasts_, and too fetching to be purported as a _monster_. To be a _demon_ was to be with purpose, and Sesshoumaru was rich with purpose.

His goal had always been to conquer, and to reach this goal, he had a carefully contrived plan. Once he had established his empire in the Western quarter, he would expand it outwards toward the other side of the ocean, and then from the east, he would go north, and then from north to south. Already, his design was one-fourth of the way to completion; as he traveled the everlasting road of conquest, Jaken was appointed overseer of all his glorified accomplishments.

Then, he discovered that the Imperial Regalia, the icons that could demonstrate the legitimacy of an emperor, were in fact real. And they were already in possession.

Three women warriors each wielded one item, and one woman, separate and of higher caliber, exercised the power to command them all – ornate symbols and imposing warriors alike.

The backward villagers in their thick dialects called her _Kaguya,_ the legendary maiden of the moon. The educated men and women in the greater cities who were able to pronounce her foreign name called her Serenity. They exalted her to the highest because she and her forces had the power to exorcise the terrible monsters that plagued them in a way monks and exterminator professionals didn't. She had the gift to cleanse even the most insufferable epidemics and, as all prerogative was bound to be polar, she easily had the potential to _destroy_, and to destroy _absolutely._

It appeared that the land his father had once protected – now _his_ land – was in threat of becoming someone else's. By heritage, he had undefiled canine blood flowing through his veins, and this blood came with an unmatched carnality. Territoriality whet his cold temper, but intrigue was far more provocative.

The idea was strikingly absurd at first; a woman was going to confiscate his domain – a human woman, it seemed, by looks and mannerisms. Despite her magnificent brigade and exquisite power, she was nothing but a mortal woman with an equally mortal body.

It would melt in his hands, her white silk gown and her jewel-toned hair. Her supple skin would dissolve at his fingertips. Perhaps she would beg for her life. Perhaps she would beg for that of her warriors.

The thought entertained him for a while until the reverse possibility became a very concrete potential. If, for the sake of being methodical, if he was to be caught and defeated –

Sesshoumaru smiled suddenly and coldly.

Because, then, he would die.

Because, an alpha male never stood down, not until he was killed. 

_AN: Something is wrong with this story, but I can't figure out what yet. When I do, I'll revise it. Until then, here are my notes:_

_Kojiki_ and _Nihon_ _Shoki_ are two compilations of Japanese history. As alien as it may sound, unlike Greek mythology and history, Japanese mythology and history are not so distinctly separate categories. _Izanagi_ and _Izanami_ are the god and goddess who were responsible for creating the island nation of Japan. My "interpretation" of the creation myth is a product of my artistic/literary license – meaning not everything I wrote is _exactly_ how it happens by way of the real myth. I apologize if I've completely ruined the myth for you. The Imperial Regalia, however, are actually real items, I think, that came from mythology and are housed in various places in Japan. And I do not think it is a coincidence that the venerable Naoko Takeuchi decided to give three Outer Senshi talisman in the likeness of a sword, a mirror, and a jewel, and place Usagi in charge of their combined power – the chalice. _Kaguya_ is mentioned in the Sailor S movie, and is the woman of the moon from a well-known Japanese tale. 

_Timeline: Think Feudal Era, Sesshoumaru's kingdom already established, with a burgeoning-but-not-quite-Crystal-Tokyo. Haven't worked out all the kinks with all the other characters._

_Review, please._


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